Ocarina of Harmony
by Shenlong7
Summary: The Ocarina did not send Link back to his childhood allowing him to pursue a possible romance, but Hyrule's trial are not over as Dark link and Vaati team up to break the seal and have taken Zelda. Can Link save her from the deadly alliance. ZeLink
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: The Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or Ocarina of Time, both are owned by Nintendo.

* * *

At first, he wasn't sure if he had heard anything from the small musical instrument in her hand, but as more time passed and he had seen her play again and again on the Ocarina of Time, but to no avail. It was odd that she could not get this done, but he could feel himself being placed into different times other than the one he was in. Like he was being placed in times before that time and after that time that he was in now, one warrior stretched out across the sands of time as if his journey would never be over. Yet it was not a thought of despair that made him think of the many time in the past that he had fought, but it was the knowledge that he would always be there to stop evil that helped calm his being. Of course, he wouldn't be facing the same Zelda as he did before, but he was certain that she would always be there for his spirit and the thought made him feel very good inside, better than he ever felt before. Deep inside that most treasure chest known as his heart, he kept his most prize emotion, his love for her, the love that had grown for so many years and months, he no longer saw her with just those child eyes that could only define something as pretty. Now he had new words to his vocabulary like beautiful, awe-inspiring, magnificent, perfect, and divine, all words that he used at the same time to describe how Zelda looked to him. He found so many things different about her from when he was just a naïve child trying to find out what lied beyond his happy village in the Kokiri Forest.

"I….couldn't do anything to help you," cried Zelda as she dropped on her knees in sorrow and Link rushed to her to put his arms around her and comfort her at her emotional low. Link couldn't bare the watch her cry like that so he had to comfort her until she didn't hurt anymore. "You've done so much for me, but I have done nothing for you. I feel so helpless for not being able to help you."

"You have helped me, in a bigger way than one," replied Link a he put his hand on her shoulder and helped her to her feet with his gentle blue eyes looking at her. "Nothing has given me greater strength to carry on the fight after I thought there was nothing that I could do for this world to keep it safe, to bring back to light in these dark times that had plagued it for seven years, save for your name. It was my thoughts of you that kept me going when I needed it and your name in the back of my head gave me all the courage I needed to save this land. I may have saved this land, but it would mean nothing if the one person I had on my head was the one person I couldn't save. I did this all for you and the thing I want the most is to always be by your side if you will let me be next to the woman I love for the rest of my life."

"Oh Link, I will grant that wish at least, since I love you so much and I know no other way to repay you than to love you," replied Zelda as she let herself fall into the embrace of his arms to feel how safe she could feel in his strong arms that held her so close to his warm and hard chest. "But these times ahead will be dark to restore everything as it was before Ganondorf ruled over these lands. Shadow has taken the place of the calm that was over these lands and I don't know how we are going to restore this Kingdom."

"My dear Zelda, I would never let you endure these times alone, not without me to help you," said Link as he held her close to him, not wanting to let her go for fear that something would appear and take her away from him. "I hope to rebuild this land with you, to give it back what it had before all of this started and soon we will have our perfect kingdom to bring happiness to our people. I was wondering if you would like to be my bride, if I can ask of such a thing."

"I'm sorry Link, as much as I want to I cannot until my kingdom is rebuilt and my people are once again in their homes," replied Zelda sadly as she turned her eyes away from Link's, not wanting to see any disappointment that might be there, but he titled her chin up to see only a smile on his face.

"I understand that the happiness of the people must come before our romance," said Link as he started to move his face closer, but then stopped as he knew it would be wrong for him to do it.

"Our romance doesn't have to be on pause just because my Kingdom's renovation is just starting," said Zelda as she leaned forward and touched his lips with her own, their first kiss and a very promising one at that.

* * *

The rain poured down over the small village that was settled in the vast Hyrule Field for construction workers who were rebuilding the castle, but it also held refugees, merchants, and travelers who needed a night to stay. The town had many inns and taverns for many people and was not without its own underworld as some merchants tried to control certain trade routes and had resorted to violence that was hard for the small band of new Hyrule knights to contend with since they had been small in numbers and were trying to get volunteers for it. Through this sense of darkness that ran through the hearts of men he was able to thrive in his environment while he waited for the right moment to strike at the Hero of Time. Link was his counterpart, his lighter side that he wished to defeat since he was the complete opposite of the hero and Dark Link, as he had called himself not finding another name, was against everything that Link stood for out of his birth, especially the fights with the other Links. (Apparently Minish Cap and Four Swords was the oldest games so they might just pre date Ocarina of Time.) Those fights and the fight against the recent Link had left him tired to the bone and barely able to support himself if not for the dark energy that lied within the hearts of men, but hopefully he could break that necessity with the help of a new found ally.

"You are late," said Dark Link as he steady himself in his chair, his ally must have chosen this time because he knew that Dark link would be very vulnerable and very agreeing so long as he could find a means to sustain himself again. "I thought you would be here on time with the way you were talking and the excitement you got when I told you of a way to revive Ganondorf so why now is it that you seem to have lost your flare for wanting to know about my methods of power. That worries me to an endless degree, Vaati."

"I'm sorry, those damn Hyrulian guards make it too hard for me to get anywhere on time," replied the infamous wizard as he sat down in front of Dark Link with his very pale, lavender skin and white hair that made him look so much like his Piccori ancestor. "Every single step they plagued me with their check points for cargo and random searches and special required passes. I had to constantly put all my weapons in another dimension and then recall them back to me only to have to put them away again in a never ending cycle that ended horribly for one guard."

"Yes they can be very tireless with that old bit of caution that never works it just only annoys us and reminds us to destroy certain guards," said Dark Link as he took a sip of his mug of Gerudo ale that had various spices that he needed to survive on. "I have certain spies of the underground and people in working for me to hear the ends and outs of everything and when I heard about your own exploits I figured we could both help each other. You know magic that will give me back my own strength permanently instead of having to thrive off these imbeciles and pathetic degenerates who have found no other way to make a living than working as hired thugs for greedy, sleazy merchants. I shouldn't have to feed off them if not for that green little twerp, how I'd love to get revenge on him and I think you would to, for that green little twerp is most undoubtedly the reincarnation of the one who defeated your ancestor and prevented you from gaining all of that power."

"Yes I am listening very intently at everything that you have to offer me for my talents," said Vaati as he listened to the words that were spoken from the hero of darkness's mouth.

"Well as you and I both know, Ganondorf and Ganon are both stuck underneath that seal created by the Seven Sages to keep them trapped until such a time as that Master Sword is unleashed. This does however, not include the loopholes that are involved in it, plus the use of other dimensions such as the Twilight Realm and the other realm of complete darkness. The Twilight Realm does have its usefulness but it cannot help us like the realm of true darkness that has the one item that I have never removed. Much to great fortune for me, for in that realm, just like I am the darker version of the Hero who can pull the Master Sword, the Master Sword has a dark counterpart that if I pull, I may not be able to unleash Ganondorf, but I can weaken the seal enough for us to be able to perform a ritual to bring back Ganondorf. I have spies, assassins, and a supply of wealth to fund many campaigns. You have the Moblin King, the octorocks, and the ability of summoning things. Add in that knight of yours, and you have a very formidable ally plus with my help, no one will be able to stop us unless all of Hyrule managed to get back into the fighting spirit, but that was all used up on Ganondorf so now this our time."

"I whole heartedly agree with you and now, before I cast my healing spell on you, I guess all I have to ask is when should we attack?"

"First we go after Link with my assassins then I want you to have the Moblins increase hostilities towards the settlers who will find themselves under harsh times. Keep all of them busy, I'll make sure Link doesn't see it all coming and it will only take two days before we control mostly everything and force the guards and knights of Hyrule to move out across this land. Hahahahaha, this will be our time."

"I look forward to seeing the look on the Princess's face when she sees that she is forced to be in captivity for I believe it is best we capture her, to decrease morale and the resistence."

"I couldn't agree with you more," said Dark Link as Vaati performed his magic on him making him feel alive again. "The timing is perfect for tomorrow Link will be going to Kokiri forest and I can send many to attack. If he survives he will have to go through vast stretches of land to stop us and face all of our forces."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Cloud of Dissonance

Disclaimer: I own not Ocarina of Time or Zelda.

* * *

The carriage that Link rode in was a plain carriage, much more to his liking than the other, more decorated, carriages that the advisors of the Royal Family wanted to send him off in. After about a year of having to put up with all the complications of Royalty, like what to wear and when to practice sword fighting among the list of other annoyances. It was all part of his non-combat trials having to sit through banquets, knighting ceremonies, christening ships, the courtly affairs that he knew nothing about, and the many competitions that he had to judge. Link was never a person who wanted to spend his life constantly performing tasks that were either repetitive or just unimportant to his wants and needs.

He wanted to see mountains again, the climb those cliffs that he had missed so much, and he missed, most of all, be able to go places without having them planned out. The best thing about being an adventurer was that you could go out on your own without having to plan anything or choose anything to go on with you. You just got a feeling of adventure, grabbed your gear, and started walking to wherever the wind would take you to.

"You seem to have a very distant look in your, Link," said Dalos, a traveler that Link had met on his journey and had helped him on his adventures, once even saving his life from a pair of Lizalfos that had cornered him. "Do you have something in the back of your mind that is eating away at you or did you not get enough sleep last night?"

"It's just that, things are much more complicated than I like them to be, especially now that I have a reputation to live up to as this great hero," replied Link as he looked out at the people passing his carriage and he wished he could be one of those men looking at his map to decide where to go next. It had been some time since he placed the Master Sword back into its altar in the Temple of Time and at the moment he was using his old Kokiri sword, which was small than what he was used to. "I'm just an adventurer who was given a quest to save this realm and I was given everything I needed. It's hard to have to be under the constant pressure of being that hero all the time, keeping up that heroic air and it's just not me.

"You know who I am, I'm not some person who boasts my quests all the time like some bore, I like being me, just plain simple me, but yet I cannot be plain simple me because the advisors tell me the people need morale. If it were up to me, I'd be taking Zelda on a romantic ride, taking her and I away from these things that aren't us, away from these political matters that are often tiring and just get in the way of us."

"Ah, so that's what this is really about, the fact that you've had little time with Princess Zelda," said Dalos with a grin on his face, not a real grin, just something to get his friend to laugh a bit, even if just for a second. "You know you could have probably had other women with you, maybe that Malon, maybe that Saria, and maybe that Ruto, but yet you chose the one with the most complications. May I ask why you went for her and not one of the others?"

"I know it was complicated and yes they are beautiful, intelligent, and good women," started Link with a bit of a chuckle before he continued, "but Zelda is so much more, she is a bit tougher than them, she even fought alongside me, proving her reputation as a bit of a tomboy true, ha ha, but we trusted each other for help. She helped me when I was terribly wounded and we both shared moments, even if was limited due to her being disguised as a man when they experienced a few awkward moments. They really only became moments after I found out that he was a she and she was Zelda.

"Even when we were just children I sort of had a crush on her and spent some time with her before the Great Cataclysm we both talked in her garden. One day I even snuck in to deliver one of the items she sent me out for and she had me stay for a lunch which she brought out herself. That was the day I found out that she hated having people wait on her and over time I discovered other things that made me slowly fall in love with her. The other women do hold a good place in my heart, but I love Zelda and nothing can change that. That's why it's a bit tough sometimes."

"Yes you do have it bad my friend, I guess that's why you needed to come here to the Kokiri forest," said Dalos as he looked out at the carriage that stopped all of a sudden in front of the forest. "Why did they stop?"

"The forest is better travelled without such things as a carriage in my opinion," said Link with a grin as he walked out of the carriage and hitched up his Hylian shield and checked to make sure that he had all his gear and supplies. "I think it is the best way to enjoy my vacation from everything and give me time to think on what I'm going to do about this romance that I want to happen, but so far it has been happening slowly."

"Yeah I'm going to head over to the town of Vindrova," said Dalos as he closed the carriage door and the carriage drove off leaving Link their in front of the forest. Dalos was a black haired man with a scar on his right cheek and very slight arched eyebrows over pale grey eyes. He was very dashing to say the least, but he dressed with a wired net shirt under a white shirt and black vest with a set of black trousers that matched his black boots. He was dashing, but he dressed like a mercenary or bandit, which was sometimes a turn off, though he was with the knights.

"I have such fond memories of this forest," said Link as he started to walk through the forest looking at the familiar sights around him that he had such fond feelings towards it all as he felt life around him.

* * *

The beginning was like the scenic route to the start of all his troubles as it was beautiful, but as soon as he got over the first wooden bridge he found that a band of stalfos camping there as if waiting for him to cross. When they immediately caught sight of him they charged with their spears and jagged swords that they banged to shield as they rushed at the Hero of Time. Link immediately brought his arrow out and let an arrow fly towards one of the stalfos, the one in the front. The stalfos fell and managed to trip up all the others so that he could make his getaway while stopping a bit to leave a small speck of flame there for some poor stalfos to step on. He crawled his way up a tall tree that had very rough bark that stood out with gaps in the levels of outstretched bark that he could grab his hand on and climb up the tree. The Kokiri had left many posts and bridges on trees like that in case of enemies, posts that a child of the Kokirir could know, even if he had a bit of Hyrulian in him.

"Link, quickly this way," called one of the Kokiri, a male named Gipo, who had bright orange hair that went down to the base of his neck and had bangs in the front. "There are stalfos around here being led by some strange man in black and he has been plaguing our lands for three weeks now so everyone is prepared to fight. We are certainly glad that you are back here, brave Link."

"It is good to see you as well Gipo, but where is Saria," asked Link as he stepped forward, very intent on knowing about one of the Sages and a childhood friend.

"She is in the village deciding on what to do while everyone else defends this forest," replied Gipo as he started to lead Link through the forest when arrows flew right over their heads fired from the staflos on the ground.

"Come we must run," ordered Link in a fiery voice as he ran across the bridge firing his slingshot at the stalfos at random times. The slingshot was lighter than the bow and did as much damage as his sword with the help of the deeku nuts so he could do very well with all of that. "Which way is to the nearest stronghold or place of defense? With they shoot we won't last long here."

"There should be one this way," said Gipo as he started to run, but was knocked off by a cloaked figure that was holding a sword with a curved thin blade in the same manor of the scimitars used by the Gerudo females, but was more curved than a scimitar and had a thin bladed base that moved into the curve.

"Gipo," cried Link as he reached for his friend, but his path was blocked by the sword of the intruder. Link, in anger, pulled his sword from his sheath and prepared himself in a fighting stance with his shield. "You'll pay for that, of that you can be assured!"

The stranger in the cloak made no reply to the threat or rather, no verbal reply, but he did make a reply with his sword as he attacked with the very taunting swipe. Link easily parried this and landed a kick on the cloaked figure's chest, but Link could feel armor plating under it that his boots wouldn't do anything against. The stranger made his first good move by slashing about with a wild abandon that almost seemed uncoordinated at first, but then Link saw through the trick. He was being made to think to dodge when he was moving dangerously on the wooden rope bridge that could cause him to lose his footing.

Now wiser to his enemy's tactics, Link used his shield to block the attacks before attacking with his sword, but he made certain that the swords never crossed for he knew his sword was too light. If they crossed swords it would definitely be the end of him for the stranger could rely on the sturdier, stronger sword to overpower Link's lighter sword. As the stranger started to become more aggressive, Link became more defensive while waiting for the right time to strike, but he was growing more aware that he was still being shot at.

With a growl, Link pushed the attacker back before stabbing at him with a sword that managed to get far in the armor before the attacker kicked him back and then slashed at him only to have Link parry the blow. Link then used his shield to knock back the attacker's sword in an attempt to disarm him, but the attacker had too strong a grip on his sword to ever let go so easily. In desperation to end the 

battle quickly, Link attacked with his shield first as a battering ram and then turned to attack with a 225 degree diagonal cut with the blade starting is cut at the 225 mark and raised up. The blade cut through the hood of the cloak and made a slight cut on the attacker's face to reveal a face much like his own except paler in color and red glowing eyes. The face he didn't think would plague him anymore, but now it was staring right at him with eyes that seemed to pierce him.

"Well Link, it would seem that you have improved in your fighting skills," said the attacker as he that had Link's face as he threw away his cloak to let it fall over the body of Gipo. "I must say I expected that the easy life would make you weak, but it seems as though you have a habit of keeping your skills up even though you would rather be in a peaceful world. You're getting better every day, in fact I can ay I underestimated you."

"What are you doing, I thought I killed you," questioned Link as he didn't stop to hide the tone of anger in his voice that was directed in full force at the person standing in front of him like a mirror. "Dark me, what have you planned?"

"Oh nothing, just a take over a Hyrule by darkness and resurrect Ganondorf," said Dark Link as he threw down the scimitar-like sword that he had and drew his other sword, that looked like the master sword except the blade was pure black and the hilt was an ashen color.

"That's the Master Sword, but I put it back, what did you do with it," gasped an astonished Link as he looked in horror at the sword held by his darker counterpart.

"Oh this is the dark realms version of the Master Sword," replied Dark Link as he twirled it around in his hand before bringing it to bear. "Don't think I'm going to attack you now, in fact I have a that horse of yours waiting outside this forest for you so you'll have to brave through these lands to find the one thing that can stop me and my ally, Vaati."

"And just what is this thing that can help me," asked Link, a bit unsure of himself because he didn't know if he could trust Dark's words.

"Go to the town that the carriage departed for and look through the chaos for an Oracle who can tell you, but that's the only hint I'm going to give you," said Dark as he sheathed his sword and made a motion for his stalfos to depart. "Don't worry about this place for a second. It's too small and insignificant to the bigger picture of things so I will leave it alone for now. You on the other hand, have bigger worries especially your princess since now my ally is probably sacking the castle while those knights are off fighting the other besieged places. So I suggest you leave immediately and stop staring at me with that 'everything is happening too fast for me to get a clue' look plastered all over your face."

"I will stop you," replied Link before he ran to the entrance of the forest.

"We'll see my nemesis, we'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Town

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda.

* * *

All the stalfos were removing their presence from the forest as he was running out of the forest, cutting down any forest threat that would fall easily to his Kokiri sword, though he knew he had to pick up another blade. His first stop would be towards the town where his friend was sent as a way of keeping the peace of the town where there seemed to be some type of crime going on in the town. Just as Dark Link had told him, his horse, Epona, a horse that was supposed to be on the carriage that was pulling Dalos to the town. Link grew worried about his friend in the town, wondering if he ever did reach Vindrova, so he started to take the slower path to the town, but he knew that it would be the path that Dalos took. The clouds started to form over him as he sped up on the path, the wind beating at his face as he moved faster into the wind as it started to rain on him. The air was cold as ice that slivered down his throat as he breathed it in and he couldn't help but if he just swallowed the proverbial snake. It was a since of dread that constantly nipped at the back of his neck telling him that he shouldn't go this way, but he was determined to not let fear get in his way or else he would forfeit his right to be the bearer of the Triforce of Courage.

"Please don't be dead, Dalos, not you," pleaded Link as he sped closer to what seemed to be a wreckage on the side of the road and he could see what looked like two men fighting a group of moblins.

"Link, any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated," shouted Dalos as he parried the attack of a moblin's spear before using a small shield to block the oncoming attack of a falchion. He used the shield to hit a moblin in the face before he brought his sword back to stab another moblin and then spun around to deliver finishing blow on the stunned moblin.

"Don't worry I'm not going to leave you hanging," exclaimed Link as he jumped off his horse into the battle and on another moblin as he moved it to steal the falchion in its sheath as it used its spear. Even though it was a heavy weapon that required both hands to wield so that he couldn't use his shield to block, but it helped him instantly kill a moblin before Dalos tossed him a sword from one of the fallen guards. "Thanks!"

"Well it seemed it would help me as well," said Dalos as he went back to guarding against two moblins before running up the armor plating of one and then jumped back to cut one.

Link used his shield to block the attack and then moved his right arm to force the shield up into his attacker's face before thrusting forward. He spun around to catch the next moblin with a diagonal cut before bringing his shield up to block a spear thrust and then delivered a kick right into the middle of the moblin's chest. The next moblin went right for his feet to trip him, but Link jumped over him and let the two moblin's collide so he could run his sword through both of them. When he looked over he noticed that Dalos had finished with his moblins and was removing the horses form the carriage.

When he got both horses off, he mounted them along with the other guard, while Link mounted Epona, and the three rode off to the town of Vindrova that seemed to be experiencing its own chaos. Dalos looked right behind them to see what he thought were two figures looking on in the shadows, but the mercenary brushed it off as he sped off, leaving the two other figures to stand behind and watch.

"Do you think that he knows," asked one of the figures as he took off his black hood to reveal pale grey skin that was like a cold marble and the features of the Hylian hero that had just left.

"I doubt it, he only believes it to be just natural jitters down his spine for superstitious nonsense," said the other figure as he took off his hood to reveal a lavender skinned Hyrulian who had a dark aura to him as he looked on and then stopped to look at the large, seven foot knight that came up behind them holding a regular knight's sword that appeared to be only a short sword to him. "Well, Shadow, as you wish to call yourself, what do you suppose I should do with my one and only knight?"

"Have him go and test how good Link is when he has the same sword," replied Dark Link or Shadow as he referred to himself as. "Vaati, I need him to go to your Oracle so she can tell him to take the Master Sword from its place and you may have to sacrifice most of what you have to make proper challenges so that he won't get suspicious of how he got it. Your knight, Zanos, will be perfect for that position and will provide excellent assistance to us as the challenge that will constantly be hounding for the hero and once he has fallen into our trapnest I should have the perfect blade for Zanos to end it all with."

"So you do not intend to let him have that sword for long after he has taken it," asked Vaati as he turned towards his partner in crime and the other just looked out at the landscape of the place.

"It's not wise to let him run around with something so dangerous that could threaten everything," said Shadow as he picked up something that was lying in the ground. "Besides, if he can survive all of our challenges then he is a very good prize to beat, but if he can't beat that creation of yours then he has already lost his prime to beat me."

"So you have not given up on fighting him as I thought that you had," said Vaati with a smirk as he walked down the hill towards the horses and turned his back to mutter a portal spell so that his knight, Zanos, could lie in wait of the hero of Time. _This will be a most interesting proposition to see._

* * *

The town of Vindrova had been hastily built and was only now, after so many years of its founding in the sixth year of Ganon's reign over Hyrule, had it gotten paved roads. Most houses weren't built as well as the older houses and when the fire erupted they didn't fare as well as the older houses. 

No one knew how the fighting erupted, but the signs of a disturbance had been seen for a long time in the town as there were many problems with the crime rate. The big crime bosses now seemed to be getting more daring with their attacks on guards, the common people, and each other as fighting erupted in the streets between rivals. The poor guards were finding themselves overrun by the rebellions, but it had managed to gain popularity enough with the common man and the criminals had neglected to get the people on his side as the other people of the village started to form a militia to help the guards and volunteers started to grow in number. This one move proved to be the kiss of death to the crime as it seemed that everyone lost the fear and the assassination attempt on the Princess's life proved to be the last attempt for the mobs to stay alive.

It all seemed quiet for the growing town until the moblins and stalfos started to increase in attacks on the village and then it happened that one day the moblins started a military campaign for the town. The town had erected small defenses that allowed it time to build a stronger defense, but now it seemed as if most of the time in which Vindrova was built should have been made to build a large brick wall. The smaller houses were completely burnt down, with families hiding in the ashes and rubble of their homes while the guards started to fight through the other side of the house. The moblins were almost pouring into the city like a flood of acid rain, destroying everything they touched. Link saw the destruction of the city and was reminded of why he did what he did as he entered the city. The picture of a moblin cutting down an old man as the old man ran filled Link with a righteous fury that made him jump off his horse and run the moblin through with his sword.

As Link got back on his feet, he used his shield to block the attack of another moblin while Dalos shot it in the throat with an arrow. As soon as Dalos was off his horse the two were running through the city to places where the moblins were attacking to help the guards fight their way through the town and look for any sign of the oracle that Dark Link had told them about. The city square was alive with violence and fire when Link road down it, using his sword to cut down the moblins that Epona didn't trample over. A stalfos had managed to sneak past the guards to get up on one of the houses that hadn't burnt down and then he jumped down onto the hero of Time with his sword pointed to stab. Link had managed to put his foot right in the small of the stalfos chest and used the momentum of the thrust to push of the stalfos with his feet. The boney creature flew back knocking over a stack of barrels on it while the other barrels rolled down the street, taking out Dalos's two opponents.

"Those still count as mine," said Dalos as he got back to back with Link when the moblins surrounded them, their swords pointing out as their attackers gave them mean, hungry looks. "This is probably the second most dangerous situation we've been in."

"No we've had worse," replied Link as he defeated two moblins only for four to take their place.

"Oh just wait till you see my side," said Dalos as he spotted a large knight walking towards them in a fearsome gold and purple armor. "You are just going to love this."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Flight to the Temple of Time

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda nor do I understand the overall timeline.

* * *

"Why what would happen to be coming from your side," asked Link as he looked over his shoulder and found that there was a knight that was walking towards them with a gigantic sword in his hand, something akin to the Giant's knife. This sword had a guard on it that was similar to a rapier and a handle that was long enough to fit three of Link's hands on it. "Well it seems that there is never a shortage of large, dark knights in the world. And I thought that this might be an easy quest for us."

"I suppose if we were to split up our enemy would have a harder time trying to track us down," suggested Dalos as he picked up one of the dropped fire seeds.

"Why don't we try escaping from this place before we do anything else," said Link as he prepared his sword and as he turned to see what his companion was doing his eyes widened as he saw Dalos loading his slingshot. "You aren't thinking of using _those_ fire seeds are you?"

"The fire is sure to keep them off of our trail," said Dalos as he let loose the fire seed from his slingshot and was thrown back from the force of the seed hit the first moblin it could touch. The fire seed erupted into a large combustion that knocked mostly everyone in the immediate area onto their backs and created a large fire wall right between the two opposing forces. "Where the hell did you get those fire seeds? By the way that was a nice warning, I really liked the timing of that!"

"You're the one who used the first fire seed that fell on the grown," retorted Link as he got back onto his feet and picked up any of the seeds that had fallen to the ground. "These are something that I picked up from one of the merchants in the Gerudo Valley, it gets me more flame for my rupees."

"Well he wasn't joking about that I think I burned my damn eye brows off," said Dalos as he started to pick himself up and could see no sign of the enemy near. "I guess this is as good a time as ever for us to split up before we have to use another one of those."

"Actually I'm not really allowed to use those at all."

"Small wonder, it would cause great destruction in the castle," said Dalos as he got onto one of the horses and then started to trot around as Link whistled for his own horse to come. "I don't know what we're facing just yet, but it seems that you need the Master Sword once again. The keys should all be there, it's just waiting for the right person to come and claim it, namely you. I'll go on to the castle to protect the Princess, I'll guard her with my life so don't worry and go after the blade."

"I thank you my friend," said Link as he picked himself up on his horse and started to trot around in a circle with his friend. "Do not worry, I won't be long in my quest and I will assure you that I'll be back to defeat the new evil that has fallen upon this land."

"I wish you good luck on your quest," said Dalos as he turned his horse around and started to ride up to the path of the castle while Link moved to where the Temple of Time rested and his sword along with it.

The buildings that were made of wood were falling down around him as the fire still raged and it seemed like some of the buildings made of brick were also crumbling. All of the guards that were left were fighting about with their swords as they made a move to push the Moblin presence completely out of the town. Not wanting to leave them alone and defenseless, Link charged about with his sword, cutting at any moblins that were still running around in the chaos. He then set his horse down a street that would merge with the main street that he needed to exit on. As he was riding, the same knight that he had seen walking towards them burst through one of the houses, his large sword held in a death grip in his spiked gauntlets. Knowing that fighting on Epona would only damage the horse, Link got off the saddle and readied his shield and sword.

"I have no wish to fight you so if you depart from this place then I will let you go," said Link as he stood in a defensive position, knowing that he would not last an offensive against the giant.

"Link," was all the dark knight said as he brought one foot forward to stomp on the ground, causing a small tremor in the earth.

The massive sword was swung in a downward arc towards Link, which Link was able to dodge and from there Link attacked with his own sword only to have it swatted away by the dark knight's hand. Since his sword wasn't having any affect on the dark knight, Link started to lead the dark knight on, hoping to gain more room to escape through, but the massive sword kept him from doing anything. The knight brought his hand forward and knocked Link right back into a wall with a gross amount of strength. In desperation, Link reached into his satchel and pulled out a seed that he threw at the knight, hoping the fire would distract him, but then immediately realized that he had thrown one of the explosive seeds and ducked down. The blast had been able to knock the knight on his back while burning most of his armor in the chest area, the perfect weak spot for Link to use.

Link ducked under the massive sword that was swung at him and was about to stab the knight in the chest when the knight brought out another sword that was smaller than the previous sword, but it was easier to wield. The two swords clashed as the knight started to move his sword with greater speed and greater strength to hammer down the defenses of Link.

Link brought up his shield to allow himself a block and then tried to kick the knight back but only succeeded in hurting his foot. Link was in a bad situation and he knew it, but he wasn't about to let himself be defeated by feelings of self-doubt. Preparing himself for a desperate gamble, Link brought his shield forward with his left hand while holding the sword pointed outwards away from him. When the sword of the knight hit the shield, Link spun around in the movement of the attack while bringing his sword up to the knight's chest. His aim was true as he managed to stab the knight right in the exposed chest. The knight stumbled back as Link drove the blade further into the knight until he fell onto his back. A tired Link picked himself up as he made his way towards his horse and managed to lift himself back onto the horse with a great effort of strength.

"Come Epona, my sword awaits me," said Link as he started to ride tiredly on the back of the horse towards the Temple of Time.

* * *

The night had been peaceful when it rested over Hyrule Field before, but now it had changed with the threat of a shadow resting over all of Hyrule. It was something that was like Ganon's rule, but now he was fighting two enemies, both were incredibly dangerous. Around him was an unexpected calm that seemed like it was on the verge of shattering in the cries of war and destruction that the shadow was bringing. And then it did shatter with the cry of a Moblin as it road on what appeared to be a wild boar with large tusks and holding massive blades in its hand. Link led Epona into a circle while lining himself up with the other Moblins and readied his sword to attack. With his sword ready, Link charged the first Moblin, leaning to the side of his saddle to avoid the blade while cutting the Moblin down. He then used his sword to block the next attack from the Moblin while shifting his weight a bit so that the moblin would have to reach out more. Moblins, being the clumsy brutes that they are, have a hard time on horseback, so when the Moblin reached it reached too far and fell out of its saddle.

The next Moblin was holding a spear that it threw at Link, but Link was able to dodge the attack and then charged in to finish off the defenseless Moblin. With the three Moblins defeated, Link started to ride off for the Temple of Time with as much haste as he could make. When the sun had finally risen above the horizon Link had just reached the temple, stopping for a bit to rest from the constant hours of riding. Epona rested near the entrance to the temple while Link walked out into the entrance of the temple and made his way through the familiar halls that never changed, not matter how much damage was done to the world. There at the pedestal lay the Master Sword, a magical sword that was made to banish evil from the realm. Hesitating a moment, Link put his hand onto the hilt of the sword and then slowly lifted it out of the pedestal that it had once rested in and place it in the sword sheath that he had kept beside him. Immediately after he did that however there was a soft cry from behind him and he turned to see Zelda being held with a knife against her throat by none other than Dalos.

"Dalos, what are you doing," asked Link, stunned that his friend would do such a thing.

"Slide the sword over here or I'll cut her throat and spill her blood," said Dalos in a voice that was darker and raspier than his own. Link did want to lose his beloved Zelda and so he set the blade down and kicked it towards him. A bat like thing flew in to grab the Master Sword by the hilt and carried it out of the Temple.

"I've done what you said now let her go," said Link as he fixed his hand on the boomerang that he had in his satchel just in case. "You're not really Dalos, are you?"

"You miss nothing," said Dalos delightedly as he put the blade away and pushed Zelda towards Link. "It is true that I am not Dalos, but merely a darkness that has taken hold of his mind to bend him to the will of my master, Vaati. I could so easily destroy this body, but it seems that I have to leave this body right now. You should go into hiding, for now there is a portal for Ganondorf to leave his imprisonment and you will be defenseless to stop him."

Dalos's eyelids closed as a dark shadow moved out of him and seemed to dissipate into the air as his body fell back. Link rushed forward to grab his friend and eased his body down to the groundwhile Zelda wet her glove with the water that Link kept with him and placed it on Link's forehead. Dalos awoke from his slumber shortly only to see the sad and humiliated looks on the faces of the couple.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't control it," said Dalos remorsefully and slowly he got back onto his feet. "It would most likely be somewhere easy for you to find since your darker twin would want a sporting rematch."

"No it would be more likely that Vaati would be the one to place it," said Link as he picked up his sword. "I have failed in my duties…now how am I to defeat Ganondorf if I have not the sword."

"No it is not over," said Dalos as he picked up the knife and made his way to the exit. He turned around to face Link. "The place where it resides is probably in the stronghold of Great Moblin. You can find it by following the underground tunnels in the Gerudo Valley."

"And where will you be," asked Link as he got up.

"I will be writing the wrongs that I have caused," said Dalos as he started to walk down the corridor. "Don't follow me, my friend, this is the way I must go and it is not the path you have to go. I might not ever see you again, but I am glad that I met you. Good bye old friend."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Gerudo

Disclaimer: I do not own The legend of Zelda or the characters.

* * *

Link watched as his friend disappeared over the horizon, a tear parting down his eye as he realized that his friend was most likely walking to his death. He walked back to his own horse with a sense of defeat hanging from his shoulders like weights and burdens. Zelda was already finished with setting all her supplies in the right place and she had started to pack all of Link's things into his saddle. She turned to look at him as if asking if he was ready to go on and he immediately nodded as he got on the saddle. Gently, Link helped Princess Zelda onto her saddle as he noticed that she was wearing the Shiekah outfit that she had on before when she was in hiding. There was something in the way their hands met that gave Link some reassurance to get on his horse as he helped up and he felt fortunate to have her accompany him. With a leap, Link climbed up onto Epona's saddle and started to ride off in the direction of Gerudo Valley with Zelda following on her own horse.

"I fear that Hyrule may not recover from this chaos after all the years of Ganon's occupation of the throne," said Link as he started to ride along the trail that led to Hyrule Field.

"The guard has remained strong throughout the encounter and I have no doubt that the people will survive," said Zelda as she put a hand onto his shoulder to try and quell the feeling of worthlessness that he felt.

"He tricked me into pulling out the sword so that I would help them set Ganondorf free," cursed Link as he picked up the sword in his belt and examined it. "This blade is no good for the purpose of defeating him and I doubt it could hold against the Great Moblin's lair."

"It may be possible to see if the Gerudos might have a better blade for you to use. It can help you get in there and take back the Master Sword."

"I suppose so…"

* * *

Dalos road his horse up to the nearest town to along the way, the town of Jova that was only able to support itself through the business of travelers and merchants, working as an oasis for all those who travelled through the deeper parts of the field. He dismounted as he left his horse near a tavern and started to walk inside when he stopped to see that a strange figure cloaked in black was watching him from afar. Pretending that he had not seen the character he continued walking in and ordered a pint while sitting in the corner. The figure in black also followed in and sat down while the barmaid served him a pint as well. Dalos could feel the eyes hidden in the dark hood while he drank his pint and when he had his horse tied to. When he reached for the horses reigns he felt a blade against the small of his neck and he turned slightly so he could see the figure in black removing his hood to reveal the familiar dark skin of a Shiekah and the face of a woman.

"And just what would you be doing pointing a blade at me," said Dalos as he pushed it aside with his gloved hand. "Especially since I don't know where it's been, Impa."

"I was just wondering why I saw you leading Princess Zelda out by the point of a sword," said Impa as she put it back right to its place and pushed it into his neck a bit. "Perhaps you could also tell me what you are doing right here and where Link is."

"Link is with Zelda, they're both safe," said Dalos a bit saddened by the memory of what he had done. "I was being possessed by the wind mage Vaati and was used to steal the Master Sword. Right now they're trying to retrieve it from the Great Moblin while I'm trying to see if I can do something to help them."

"What proof do you have of this?"

"Well all I have is a wet cloth from the Princess, but nothing really solid as evidence except for the fact that I'm the one having to be cautious. If I had been siding with them I'd have others accompanying me and you'd have never gotten this close to me."

"True, I suppose I'll have to take your word for it," said the Shiekah female as she sheathed her sword and Dalos rubbed the back of his neck. "Well then where you were planning to start from besides the tavern and the pint glass."

"I was hoping that there would be some way of finding out about where there stronghold was," said Dalos as he started to take his horse off the post and then climbed onto it. "My next stop should be to the Castle where the other guards are so that we can hopefully form into a fighting force if I'm lucky enough."

"Only a few are there acting as a resistance force to pester the moblins there out of the castle," said Impa as she got onto her own horse and then picked up a bow in her hands. "But the real fight would be back in one of the towns away from Vaati, whose still in the city."

"Even better I can try and get rid of one enemy so Link can take the other."

"If you're planning on doing that then I would go somewhere else because he will probably know you're coming and be expecting you. What we can do is try to oppose him in other villages to keep him on his toes until he spreads his forces out thin."

"Right now that won't do much if Ganon comes back so all it seems we can do is buy some time for Link and Zelda," said Dalos as he started to ride slowly down the village towards the direction of Hildain Town. "I guess we can try starting there since there are a lot of strong people there that we can make good knights out of. I think should probably send everyone into hiding while I do this since this is my fight for redemption."

"How egotistical can you get thinking that your redemption is worth more than this land," scolded Impa as she rode right next to him. "I have as much right to doing this since it is my duty to take care of the Princess and this land."

"Well I never said you couldn't but still you have to really not explode like that."

* * *

Gerudo Valley lay just across a ravine carved out by Zora's River and across from the ravine was the Gerudo Fortress. The Gerudo was a female race of thieves with only one known male among them, Ganondorf, and it was a dark miracle that Ganondorf had even lived to grow into adulthood. The women of the Gerudo usually drowned any males because it was said that any male would be one of evil that would bring destruction to the world. This fortress was peril to all travelers because the Gerudo were notorious for kidnapping travelers and would only let high ranking nobles and the Royal Family pass through without incident. Link had been added to that list because of his actions against Ganon and was most grateful to the leader of the Gerudo, Nabooru.

The two made their way to the fortress where the Gerudo held prisoners, homes, and training facilities. Both identified themselves and were accepted in by Nabooru's second in command while Nabooru was out on official business, but they were still welcomed warmly. Most of the women eyed Link with a bit of lust in their eyes except for the higher ranking Gerudo who all looked very serious and worried. They were both given refreshments of the wild fruit that sometimes grew in the desert and a tea that was made from the desert flower known as Luxialla. With their throats moist again the two were accepted by the council that acted in the stead of the leader. The head of the assembly was the eldest Gerudo named Farias, who had a very tame hair that was different from the other wild hairs of the Gerudo. Instead of the usual red hair that was common among the Gerudo, she had green hair that seemed to be well groomed, more like a Hylian would wear their hair.

"Indeed it seems that you have come to us in troubled times that concerns all of this land," said Farias as she addressed the two and then motioned for the guards to bring along a stronger sword for Link to use, something that was definitely not a match for the Master Sword or its darker twin, but would fare a lot better than Link's own sword. "We see that you are in need of a better sword so we will provide you one and ask that if there is something else that you need that you not hesitate to ask for it."

"Actually I was wondering if you possibly knew anyone who had the ability to navigate through the many tunnels," said Link as he started to bow, but was motioned to stand so that the council could bow to him.

"You do not need to bow to us hero of time for we know who you are," said the elders and they bade him come forward as one of the guards brought back a strange rock that looked as if it came deep from in the core.

"In one of the tunnels there is a city underground that is occupied by strange hooded people," said Farias. "These guards will lead you and you may use that ore to pay for someone to navigate around there since rupees are not considered very valuable down there."

"I thank you for all your help and hopefully I will not fail to bring harmony to this land," said Link as he took the ore and made a courteous bow to the council. He and Zelda followed the guard to the deeper underground of the fortress where the tunnels resided. They both began their descent down the tunnel that was marked with what they assumed was the name of the strange land as it was strange enough. "Subrosia, that sounds like an odd name for a place."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Subrosia

Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or anything relating to Zelda.

* * *

The tunnels were long and sometimes narrow with an unpleasant stuffiness that was increased by the almost unbearable humidity that was prevalent through most of the tunnel. It was something that Link was accustomed to from his many trials, but the only harsh condition that Zelda had ever come across was the cold. Thankfully they had water with them, if only it were enough for the both of them as the temperatures were rising to extreme levels and after a few miles they had begun discarding clothing to decrease the heat. Link had removed his tunic and kept his white undershirt on while rolling his tights up.

Zelda was a bit more clothed, keeping her shirt on because it wouldn't be too modest of her to take her shirt off, but she did take her tights off to reveal her long slender legs that had not been tanned, instead they were quite pale. In addition to her tights, she removed the white clothed wrappings that covered her face to let herself breathe easier and let her hair out. Unfortunately for Link, the room had started to get hotter than before as he could not remove his eyes from the beautiful sight of the Princess in front of him, but yet he was forced to shake those thoughts away. It would not be proper for him to have such thoughts at this time as he was needed for the safety of Hyrule. Then again, would he ever have time with her being the Princess?

It was because of their duty that they could not openly show the signs of their affections and love that others could do, nor could they actually embark on this love at the time. First Hyrule had to be restored and then they would be allowed to marry. Now that Hyrule was once again in danger Link began to doubt that it would ever return to the way it was before. Would he be fighting for the rest of his life, waiting for the day that they would be able to get married? Such a life was thought dreadful and would be less preferable than a slow painful death and humiliation at the hands of some madman.

Link didn't know what to do with himself if he couldn't gain the hand of Zelda, the only woman that he could love. It wasn't that there were no other beautiful women; Link had met many on his travels, some who could be said to be as beautiful as Zelda and easier to get. Zelda had the one thing no other woman in Hyrule had, she had fought beside him and knew what it was like to live in harsh conditions because there wasn't a town around. He shared a relationship with her that was deeper than the relationship he had held with Saria and she had been his friend for so long.

"I think we'll be there shortly," said Link as he pressed on forwards and found that he was correct on his statement, only he was off a few minutes.

"When they talked about a city underground I never thought it would be anything like that," exclaimed Zelda as she saw the soft earth, roads, grass, and buildings made out of rock, nothing too different from her own town except for the fact that it was all underground. "To build a village with everything you would find on the surface is a feat that has been thought impossible, but perhaps the word impossible is as obsolete as stone knives."

"I agree with that," second Link as he started to walk towards one of the stone buildings when he saw a figure with a dark face and green cloak. The figure was walking around normally with hands shrouded in the green cloth while other figures just like it were garbed in blue, pink, and orange. "These must be the Subrosians that we were told about."

He cautiously stepped towards one of the Subrosians and with the most gentlest of fingers, tapped the Subrosian on the shoulder. The Subrosian immediately turned around and the quickness in its turn caught link off guard enough that he moved back a bit. The Subrosian sized him up as if not knowing what to do with Link, but then it just shrugged and stood attentively.

"And what can I do for you stranger," asked the Subrosian in a very squeaky voice that sounded link something one of the jesters of court would do.

"I was wondering if you could guide us through the many tunnels around here or at least point us in the direction of someone who could lead us through the tunnel," said Link in the most humble tone the Subrosian had ever heard.

"Well if you are looking for a way to go through the other tunnels there is a crazy young feller who goes on different adventures throughout the tunnel," said the Subrosian as he turned and started to dig into the ground as if he was expecting to find buried treasure. "Though I would be warned that he says there are many brutish looking thing in the tunnels so it will be very perilous to your journey."

"I will remember that," said Link as he surmised that the Moblins were trying to take over the underground city of Subrosia for the purpose of more territory or a hiding place. "Where would I find this young person who can help me with my problem?"

"He should be going on his home is right next to the volcanoes so you just head towards them big things," replied the Subrosian before he started to reach into the hole that he dug and pulled out a chunk of ore. "Though I would warn you that he is a bit crazy in the head, always wanting to run off somewhere, but as long as you can keep him on the course you'll be okay."

"Thank you for your help," said Link before he departed with Zelda to the giant volcanoes that towered over the city sky line.

As soon as they had reached the house there was a large cry, something similar to a wounded animal, except that it was a bit squeakier in voice. Remembering that there were some reports of possible Moblin activity, Link rushed forward with his sword drawn in case someone needed his help. He burst through the door with his sword drawn and waiting for something to attack, but he could only see a Suborosian thrashing about wildly with its hand caught in a bear trap. The bear trap had long since been used with signs of rust on it as well as the fact that they went out of use when the bear population had begun to diminish. The constant cries of help were a bit comical, but Link had to resist the urge to laugh since it could make the Subrosian less inclined to help them. Instead Link grabbed the bear trap and then pulled it open to free the Subrosian from it.

"Ah I thank you, stranger, for helping me out of that thing," said the Subrosian as he rubbed his clothed hand and then looked up at Link. "So then what can I, Tork, do for you stranger?"

"My name is Link and this is my companion Princess Zelda, of Hyrule," said Link as he bowed to the Subrosian. "We would be grateful if you would be so kind as to lead us through the different tunnels so that we may find our way to the Moblin's."

"Oh you're here about those are you, that must mean you own that sword that they have," said the Subrosian in an excited manner. "I figured that sword could not belong to them because it was too fine and elegant of a blade for brutes that use cleavers to fight, but you sir, seem like one worthy of that blade."

"You know where it is," asked Link as equally as excited because he was close to finding the blade that could help him in his quest.

"Yes I have seen them trying to bury it in one of the many tunnels, but it refuses to stay underground," replied the Subrosian known as Tork. "I once tried to pick it up, but it would not come into my grasp strangely and so I have kept watch over what they do with it. Right now it is wrapped up and in a box that is held by the Great Moblin, but he is a clumsy oaf, whom I'm sure you can still the box from."

"Would you mind taking us to there now?"

"Oh no I was just on my way there myself when I accidently got my hand caught in that little contraption there that was left here by a surface dweller like yourselves. I can't imagine why he would waste time making such a useless thing that only seems to be a pain when he could be making a lot more useful thing s with that metal. He even left it just to rust, the stupid fool. Anyway let me get my travelling things and then we can be off."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Great Moblin

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda.

* * *

"So why do you collect such things," asked Link as he looked around the back area of Tork's home that was littered with so many things that Hylians had probably left about long ago. Most of it was surprisingly worth a pretty rupy, but that was useless to Tork who lived in a world that was only run by ore chunks that could be used to make something or another.

"Call it a strange curiosity at the things that are around there on the surface," replied Tork as he came out with a belt around his waist that had many assorted items that an adventurer would use, except for a sword. "I guess I want to know what is out there, but at the same time, I am too afraid of going out there so I stay back here and collect things from up there. Perhaps they give me the courage to go up there or perhaps they are things that make me feel like I am there up on the surface, but them again it would be a bad idea since it would be too bright and chilly. Despite the fact that I might not survive a trip up to the surface I just want to go up there and see what it's like."

"You are a very brave Subrosian and person to want to question those things," said Link as he walked over to the river only to find that it was full of sulfurous water that would burn the skin.

"I have only pondered such things, but I have never acted on them," said Tork as he started to walk into one of the tunnels, a very large one that looked like you could drive a wagon through. "The tunnel leading to the Great Moblin is this way, but be careful, for if you separate then you may never find your way out of these tunnels."

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind," said Link as he started to walk behind Tork with Zelda following them, both staying close to their guide in order to prevent getting lost.

They walked through hot rocks that seemed to be on fire and slowly made Link consider taking off his warmer clothing, but he persevered so as not to have to waste time putting on his protective padding. Most of the walls were lined with jagged edges that made the terrain very rough and gave it everything that one would find in a iron maiden, except an iron maiden was much cooler when compared to the oppressive heat of the tunnel. Luckily there had been a freshwater spring, probably from one of the aquifers that were said to hold vast amounts of freshwater. It was amazing to find some such as these and Link was able to fill up a few canteens of water, but he would only drink them sparingly so as not to run out when he was in dire need.

Zelda, on the other hand, was a bit more reckless with her water because her disguise still covered so much of her and in a way that Link would not even dare think of. Luckily the Subrosian told them that soon they would be finding themselves in a cool place and made not of it by putting on a scarf.

"It should be just up here, a place where the Moblins get in," said Tork as he walked up to a inclined plane that would send a person tumbling through them if they even tried to take a step on the slope. "We just have to slide down this path and then we'll be at the gate."

Slide was a very strong term as the instant they sat down on the slope they were sent sliding down through an almost freefall like tunnel that exceeded the cart rides at carnivals. It also didn't help that it was dark and there was some wet, slimy matter on the side of the slide that had a revolting touch to it as soon as someone ran a finger over it. The very touch made Princess Zelda want to throw up as she felt it and then before she knew it there was a feeling as if she was falling from a long distance, falling, plummeting to some demise that she would never see through hollow black.

And then there was a bit of light, but only a nightmarish flash of red that only accented the terror that she was feeling. Then, there was a white light that passed through her and left her standing in a tunnel that was lit by torches. Link and the Subrosian, Tork, were all standing there waiting for her and after she had time to gather herself together, the three of them made their way down the tunnel.

Eventually they came across a large gate that was in the shape of a skull with its jaws wide open and a large wooden door that was guarded by a sleeping Moblin. Tork, almost instantly, threw his boomerang with such skilled accuracy and deadliness that Link himself had to be impressed by the throw of skill. No wonder Tork only travelled with a boomerang because that was all he needed to defend himself in the end. While the Moblin lay knocked out or dead, Link could not tell by its ugly face, all he knew was that it would not trouble them, and so he opened the door and held it open for Zelda and Tork before slipping in himself. They had managed to penetrate the lair of the Great Moblin, and now they would have to find the Master Sword and the Great Moblin himself.

* * *

Dalos sat at the tavern alongside the beautiful Shiekah, who sat right beside him as he looked around the tavern for his contact to meet with him and tell him about the actions of resistance in the Hyrule Royal court. The retaking of the capitol would inspire greater morale in the people that could gain more help for the cause of over throwing them and if they could capture Vaati then they would end this war without more bloodshed. So far they had managed to do significant attacks on the dark forces across Hyrule Field, enough to make Vaati nervous a bit at the resistance. Impa had begun to rally the Hyrule Guard to occupy places and had gained support from other countries while Dalos lead raids to keep attention off of Link and Zelda.

"Are you sure that he's going to show up tonight," asked Impa as she took a drink of the strong ale that was served at the tavern.

"He told me it was this night and he has never let me down before," replied Dalos as he took a drink of his ale and the nodded toward a plainly dressed man wearing a simple cap on his head with strange trousers made of brown leather and an odd shirt. "Well you're finally here, Merick."

"It was a bit hard to slip through the border, but I was able to do it," replied the man as he sat down across from the two warriors and ordered an ale for himself. "Right now there is a lot of tension as they've finally realized that they have lost track of the Hero of Time and are now starting sweeps of the city before going to the deserts. Most men avoid that area because the Gorudo are not known for being very hospitable to armies that march in there unless they're allies and the last thing they would want is for the resurrection of Ganondorf. Of course that is not the important news, get this, there is a large army held up in the Hyrule Royal Court as it seems that Vaati has begun to start the summoning. All he needs is blood from the Sages and the life of the one who sealed him within the Realm of Darkness."

"Good work, are there any weaknesses to this place," asked Dalos as he leaned in forward so that it would not be spoken aloud as he could not trust everyone around him, even though they were Royal Guards.

"From what I can tell they have still not found the emergency passage that Princess Zelda had built," whispered Merick as he looked around to make sure no one was listening in. "It's big enough for a small force to slip in and let in the rest of the army or spend time causing random attacks around the city while using the small fortresses to keep from being spotted."

"Well first I think we should slip into there and start harassing Vaati," said Dalos as he reached into his pocket for the gold as payment for the information. "Then we can get bolder until we decide it right for us to strike. We'll make it seem that we're outside of his gates by attacking all around on the outside, possibly starting rebellions so we can fool him into sending more of his army outside. Once he's sent a significant portion out there we can make our main attack and let in our army."

"Alright then, I'll assist you in whatever you do," said Impa as she then turned to the man who was gone off with the bag still lying on the table. "He just takes the money?"

"Well he feels that he shouldn't be paid for a civic duty but I keep offering because he brings reliable information," replied Dalos as he took another sip of his ale before throwing the whole thing back. "Wouldn't suppose I could interest you in a drinking game, could I?"

"I would stop that thought right there," warned Impa as she pointed a small concealed knife that was often attached to a mechanism that would shoot it out of her sleeve. "I happen to know every single trick you have up your sleeve to wooing a women and I can assure you that it won't work on me. Should you try anything like that on me then it would be to your immediate peril because I am very handy at cutting through things here, something that you would like to take well into knowing if you wish to keep your status as a ladies' man."

"Wow I'm not even sure that it was necessary for you to do that," said Dalos as he started moving his chair a bit from Impa's, though he was clearly joking on the manner. "Now that is no way for a lady like yourself to behave, in fact I think you should really consider making the best of your time and besides, I'm not going to treat you like I do with every other woman."

* * *

The Master Sword was held in the war chambers of the Great Moblin, a place that was the surprisingly easy to infiltrate since the guards were lazy and were deep sleepers. Link had very little trouble sneaking into the underground palace of the Great Moblin, even being able to walk right up to the Master Sword and pull it from its restraints. It felt good for him to finally have his sword in his hands, the spirit of a warrior and adventurer bursting through his heart with renewed vigor as he spun the sword in his hands just to get the feel of it back. It was surprising how easily he was able to remember how to use the sword and every movement came almost as if natural to him. The only unfortunate thing was that he forgot where he was for a second and at that moment, the Great Moblin himself was walking into the war chambers with guards on either side of him.

"Kill him," bellowed the Great Moblin as he pointed one pudgy green sausage like finger at the Hero of Time and his guards immediately ran to fight him.

Jumping to Link's side was Princess Zelda, who had her own sword drawn and Tork, who had his boomerang out and was already throwing it at his enemies. The first moblin, one that was further disfigured by a scar over its mouth, came charging at Link and managed to duck under the boomerang that took out the moblin behind him. Link dashed on to meet his enemy and put his shield up to block the spear thrust while moving his sword in for a stab right in the moblin's gut and then pulled it out quickly so he could deal with the other moblins coming his way.

Zelda was also using her sword to fight the moblins, though without a shield she was using the open area and her own agility combined with the clumsiness of the moblins to out maneuver her opponent. As one moblin would lunge for her with its spear, she would side step it or duck under it and slash at the moblin while another used a different attack.

"Be careful Princess, there are some that are better skilled," said Link as he hacked his way to the Great Moblin, hoping to kill the leader and then use the chaos to escape.

"Out of the way, I will do battle with this Hylian myself," growled the Great Moblin as he started to stomp towards Link with his mighty axe in hand, the muscles bulging under the armor of the Great Moblin. "Now then, Hero of Time, it is time to meet your demise and for me to gain the power of that sword."

"Even if you did manage to kill me, this sword would never yield itself to you," said Link as he put his shield up in order to faint a defense, but as soon as the axe was swung he jumped back.

The Great Moblin charged at Link in a wild fury that was likened by his wild appearance as he swung his axe around in an attempt to cut down the Hero of Time. Link stood firm, never stopping to cower from the brutal assault aimed at him while he kept his form and foot work to prevent from tripping. It wasn't hard for Link to spot the weakness in the Great Moblin's flawed foot work and he could see that in trying to match Link's own speed he was stressing his own body so that he would soon find himself tripping over his leg. All he had to do was wait until the enemy self destructed itself as he fought on with his axe and soon there were moments in which his swings were too wide, leaving enough room for Link to get in a few strikes.

As the fight lasted on, the Great Moblin became tired and even more desperate as he started to fight with more wild swings. Then it happened, the Great Moblin's reach caused him to trip over his feet, sending him forward to fall to the ground and then Link struck with his mighty sword, the blade piercing the neck of the Great Moblin, forever ending his brutal reign.

"The Great Moblin has been slain, the Great Moblin has been slain," cried all the moblins as they ran from the palace, leaving the city in chaos and from that chaos Link and his companions ran out.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 6: A Peaceful Moment

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda franchise or any rights to that franchise, this is done for non-profit reasons.

* * *

Link thanked his Subrosian friend, who had been quite instrumental in his fight against the Great Moblin and the reclaiming of the Master Sword that was now within his possession. Tork, however, was delighted to have just been along on the adventure and would not accept any reward for his services, saying that his part in the quest was payment enough for any meager services he could provide. Even still, Princess Zelda bequeathed him one of her hairpins as a trophy to remember his accomplishments by. The hairpin was a sterling silver with gold encrusted decorations of a dragon.

After parting ways with the eccentric Subrosian, the two found themselves trekking the long hot caverns of the tunnel that they had entered through and they soon found themselves remembering how awful it was going through it. The heat and the humidity was worse going out than it was coming in and Link was wishing once again, that he had not decided to wear that green tunic over chainmail. When they had finally arrived outside of the tunnel they found that the Gerudo's were all awaiting them.

"I see that you have managed to survive those tunnels, especially with what you were wearing," said Nabooru as she had water brought to them before they collapsed from thirst. "I see that you have a Master Sword and none too soon, we have word that your friends who are controlling the resisting forces are all going to try and retake the castle. The people are still slow in taking up arms, but the armies of the resistance are a thousand strong with some of the best captains and strategists, but we're still going up against the other two thousand soldiers that have been cursed by the evil spell of the sorcerer and very few of them wish to fight their former comrades."

"Things have really gone bad if so many have been cursed like that," exclaimed Link as he rose to his feet and picked up his shield. "I know Dalos will try to take the castle alone, but I can't let him make such an error. That would most certainly be a trap for him since there are probably more creatures inside the castle than he may know of and the moblins near the castle have not heard for the new Great Moblin's demise."

"They'll have another one up after fighting amongst each other so that gives us a year or two," declared Zelda as she walked to the horses that were waiting for them. "Either way, it is clear that we have to go back to the castle. Even if we aren't able to delay the attack, the Princess should be there to oversee the battle to reclaim the throne. I am sorry that I'm not able to thank you properly, Nabooru, but our friends need us now more than ever."

"Do not worry, we understand that circumstances of the greatest importance prevent you from doing so," replied Nabooru as she bowed to Princess Zelda. "I wish you a safe journey."

* * *

Vaati walked into the war chambers of the Hyrule kingdom to find his ally practicing his sword play with one of the heavier swords to increase his strength. The better you got at wielding heavy swords, the greater your mastery of smaller swords would be. Not that the Master Sword was an inferior sword, it just weighed so little to its wielder and it could be wielded like a regular fighter sword.

"It would seem that Link has finally recovered the Master Sword," announced Vaati as he sat down on the King's seat as he watched his nemesis's shadow continue his practice. "The Great Moblin, much like the last one, is now dead and will probably be eaten by his followers out of some sort of bizarre symbol of respect. The other Moblins know nothing of this and even if they did, they follow me and only me, just like everything else does in our army, save for your octorocks."

"Well I always felt it better to take the last thing anyone would expect, that way I always have the element of surprise," said the hero of evil as he executed a masterful parry with the sword. "Though right now I think they are still looking for a name to call me in the town since I banned the name of Link being used to describe me, and you did tell me to find a name, am I not correct?"

"You are correct that I did say those words, but on other matters, I cannot say," said Vaati as he mt started to twirl a dagger in his hand. "Have you ever thought of the name…Shadow? Or perhaps you could use the name Darkness?"

"Shadow…I think it is prudent if I am the shadow of Link," said the man formerly known as Dark Link as he tested the name on his tongue. "Now then I suppose we could move onto other matters, like the ritual to summon Ganon from his prison."

"Well we've got everything that we need, all that is left is for you to bring me the blood of the one who kept him in that world," replied Vaati as he brought a chalice before him by sheer will. "There can be no mistakes about this, we have to keep everything in check, even this attack by the Resistance. By the way, what are your plans for the man known as Dalos."

"I'll need to lure my prey to the door that exists between the banished realm and ours so I'll kill Dalos. His death will enrage Link enough that he'll follow me to the ends of the world, to Hell and back, the possibilities are endless. You must remember that this is a game between he and I. I have to see who is better, me or him. Regardless of who comes out alive, you'll have your blood, I can guarantee that you will get that from me."

"I'll hold you to it or else I'll remove you from the shadows out into the light where you will fade away from existence."

"Come now Vaati, we're all adults here, we shouldn't try to threaten each other like that or else what will become of us."

"Alright then, I'll trust you, just don't betray my trust."

* * *

The quickest way from the Gerudo Valley was to take a path that lead right into Hyrulian Fields and then ride along the banks to the waterway that led into the castle. However, the path that led to the Hyrulian Fields was treacherous with many places for archers to hide and the infernal pestering of Skultulah that seemed to nest in the rooms. For Link it was no problem, but the Princess had always been disgusted by spiders during her childhood and that had grown into the sensation of a chill down her spine whenever she saw one. Needless to say, this was not going to be easy for Link to maneuver through.

Luckily, there were not a single skultulah insight when they started their journey and the archers were probably long gone do to the Gerudo's in the area so things were easy to cope with. It might have been a trip without incident had Zelda not felt the cool breeze from the rock that flew an inch from her ear. But she did feel it and when she turned she found that there was a single octorok standing on a cliff. In annoyance she flung one of her boomerangs at the creature, striking it on the top of the head, causing it to fall down the cliff and it almost landed on the unsuspecting Link.

"What in the na-what is that," exclaimed Link as he looked at the corpse of the Octorok. It was very strange to see an Octorok out in the Gerudo Valley because they mostly stayed near water and would never travel out into a desert climate. Also, this one was red instead of the usual purple and had four stubby legs to walk on. "This is unlike any octorok I have ever seen!"

"I suspect this must be Vaati's doing and if it is his doing than there might be more," warned Zelda as she brought her horse to a halt to look at the thing she had struck. "This must mean that they aren't blind to our presence at all."

"Which would mean that Dalos is not doing as well as he thinks," exclaimed Link as he realized hwo bad things were now. If Dalos wasn't able to distract them then it meant that they were stronger than what was first thought and if that was the case, things looked even direr than before. "We have to hurry or else there might not be a Resistance left to help!"

Zelda nodded before she brought her horse to a full gallop and the two were racing against the rock to make good time on what energy their horses had. Epona was still one of the fastest horses in the land, but Zelda's White Moon was still an impressive horse. Amongst the rocks there was a stir amongst a whole swarm of octoroks, the squid like creatures had been lying in wait you see, and the two heroes soon found themselves fighting off different rocks that came hurling at them.

Link was lucky enough to have a shield strong enough to block most of the attacks, but Princess Zelda was forced to rely on her sword to bat each rock aside. This tired her arm out easily and caused her to lose her balance on her horse. She would have slipped had Link not been so quick in helping her back onto her saddle, but as a result he suffered a bruise from a rock to the back.

"We should be coming to the exit for the pass, from there we can avoid them easily," said Link as he held the shield up to protect them both from harm.

True enough, the entrance was very close for them, close enough that as soon as he said those words the gallops started to make soft sounds on the grass. With the end of the rocky storm came a sigh of relief from both of them that released the anxiety that was eating away at their nerves bite by bite. The path had a great beauty to it as it ended near a peaceful lake with soft patches of tall grass that was growing from the softest ground that Link had ever stepped on.

The wind whistled through the trees like chords from an ocarina and it just seemed out of place in such a world of peril. Amongst the clear blue waters of the lake were bright lights dancing on the surface of the lake, almost like children playing in a puddle. Link was reminded of Navi, who had decided to return to the Great Deku Tree, and it had been so long since he had seen her.

"This is a nice place to let our horses rest," said Zelda as she led her horse to the lake to drink. Link found himself agreeing with her as he brought Epona to the same lake.

"Though we haven't much time to spare, if we make it to one of the small towns by night we can make our way along the path by day and reach the castle by tomorrow night," said Link as he sat down on the grass, his back feeling the relaxing pressure on his body that he felt. "It seems so strange to be here, in such a peaceful place, when everything around us is shrouded in chaos."

"True, but I like this place and this moment," said Zelda as she sat right next to him and for some reason her head slowly lowered itself onto his shoulder, as if a magnet in his shoulder had attracted her earrings. They both blushed at the unexpected contact, but they enjoyed it because it was one of the rare intimate moments that they could have. "This place, this memory, I love this, all of this because it may be all that we have."

"Even if we have only brief moments of intimacy and are constantly separated by our duties, I am happy that at least I can be so close to you, even if I have to watch you from afar. One day, we'll be able to be together. One day I'll steal you, my Princess, and until that time, I will always be there in the dark to wait for you."

"What I would give for this moment to last, even if I'd have to keep all the current problems, just to be here so close to you."

The two sat there for an hour, watching the beauty of the lake as the fairies danced along it, it seemed like a pleasant eternity as if by some magic, the little fairies had managed to slow down time around them so they could watch their game forever. Somewhat reluctantly, the two helped each other up and walked to their resting horses. Before Link got on his horse, Zelda pulled him forward and before he knew it, he felt her warm lips against his cheek, shooting a pleasant sensation throughout his body as his heart beat thumped in quick succession like a bongo drum. His skin cried in protest as her lips left it, but Link was still too speechless to protest himself.

"Come on we should head off," said Princess Zelda as she climbed onto her horse and looked back at Link who was still standing there. "Link, come on we have to go!"

"Wha-oh yes the que-quest, I'm s-s-s-sorry about that," stammered Link as he awkwardly climbed up onto Epona's saddle and grabbed the reigns in a jerking sensation that was uncomfortable for Epona. "I'm sorry about that, girl, I just…I'm sorry about that."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Town that Never Existed

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda franchise or any game from the franchise.

* * *

They had been riding for hours since they departed from the serene lake and they rejoiced when they saw what seemed like a small town. It was strange because Link did not know of any town being anywhere near that region on the map, but he shrugged it off by reasoning that it was probably built by Hylian refugees during Ganon's rule. Though, if it were such a town, than it was very well made for a town that was just put up, usually making a town of that size and with finely shaped brick buildings took a very long time. So long in fact that most refugee camps or new towns had wooden buildings.

"This seems like a nice place to stay for the night," said Link to Zelda as he started to bring Epona to the city.

"Yes though I don't remember any city being out this far," said Zelda as she too brought her horse to the town, but she found the town changing a bit.

It first started to seem like a faint glow, as if candlelight in a window was projecting over the sunlit hills and the light was making it seem even more intense. As they got closer and the sun dropped from the mountains, the glow began to take the ominous form of flames and slowly the flames began to spread through the town, through of the buildings and the two found themselves galloping onwards to try and save any villager they could. Link was the first to reach there and he immediately started to push on the door to the house closest to him, a lovely brown brick house that would have been nice to look at without the given circumstances.

"Help me, please someone save me," came the frightened cry of a child from inside the house as Link pushed at the door, but for some reason the door refused to swing open.

"Zelda I need your help with this," shouted Link as he started to push against the door with his shoulder. "There is someone in here!"

"No….there's no one there, not anymore," said Zelda slowly and softly as her gaze turned downwards in mourning.

"What, how could you say such a thing," asked Link as he turned to look at her and he saw that she was pointing at the house that Link had tried to enter. When he turned to look at the house, he could see why she had a mournful gaze. The house had long since been burnt beyond all repair and most of the rubble had piled up behind the door, a door that now had the words '_Do not forget'_ burnt into it. "I don't understand."

"There are phantoms that still haunt this ruin," said an old raspy voice from behind them. Link and Zelda both turned to see an old man dressed in dark blue robes with a crooked cane in his head that was carved from petrified wood. He was very wrinkly and had a gloomy expression on him. "This village was burned down in the beginning when Ganondorf was taking over Hyrule one by one, crushing all those who stood in his way. The people of this town were peaceful people who only wished to live in peace without having to swear allegiance to the Dark Lord, but the instant they refused, Ganondorf gave the orders for this town to be destroyed. You see the phantoms of this town wish for you to never forget them so all will never forget what the powers of evil will do if they come back to power. It is a message to you, young hero, that you must stop Ganon at all costs."

"I see…I am glad then that I came here," said Link as he turned to look at the burnt words in the door, no wider than the tip of a child's finger. "I'll never forget those who lost their life to Ganondorf and I'll never let him do anything like this so long as I live."

"If you hurry, Hero of Time, you may find a small village that will put you up for the night," said the old man before he bowed at them and before he vanished he said, "You are a fortunate one, young hero. For Time honors its heroes well, but as it grows older, Time will also forget its heroes. You are the most fortunate one indeed, for Time will never forget you."

"Wise sir," cried Link as he tried to reach out for the old man, but all he caught in his hand was a money bag filled with enough coins to pay for two rooms at any inn. "Thank you, good sir. I'll never forget you as well."

"Link, we should go now," said Zelda as she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but Link found it hard to push the sorrow back down into his stomach.

"Yes…you're right," said Link as he slowly climbed onto his horse. "I will not let anyone suffer this fate again."

The hooves made a soft sound as they galloped towards the next town with great ease and comfort, almost as if someone was carrying them along the way. Link said nothing along the way and he did seem to be focusing on anything around him, almost as if someone had taken holds of the reigns. Eventually they came to another town that had a lot of life to it, more so than any other village that Link had been to. There were lanterns of different covered paper that created a nice glow of many lights and some were enchanted by some magic of a wandering magician so that the lights would change color or flicker the rhythm of the music.

"It's so joyous, I never knew there could places like this in Hyrule during these times," exclaimed Link as he trotted into town on Epona with Zelda following him.

"It's a place that is made with a protective barrier so that Ganon could never send any of his troops in," explained Zelda as she pointed to a large inn. "If I'm remembering correctly from my time here, this inn has some of the best service and the coziest room in town, though it is very expensive. I brought some rupees with me so we should be able to get a room. That is unless of course you'd rather have separate rooms."

"I'm…fine with…sh-sh-sharing a room," stammered Link as he tried to process what he had just heard. If he had heard correctly, Zelda had offered to share a room with Link, meaning they would probably be sharing a bed.

"Okay then, let's go in then," said Zelda as she brought her horse to the stable next to the inn and then climbed down from his horse. She turned back to see how hesitant Link was. "What's wrong, Link? Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah just give me a second," said Link as he started to slowly walk towards the inn with his tail between his legs, it was probably one of the most awkward things Link ever had to do in his young life before now.

"May I help you two young love birds," asked the inn keeper as he peered at the two with a grin on his face, the same type of grin old people give young couples. "If you're asking me where the best place to eat is then you'll find the restaurant next door to have a very good feast."

"Oh it's nothing like that," replied Zelda who was fighting her own blush at that moment and she turned to look back Link who, like a true symbol of innocence, had his blushing face covered by his green hat. "We were just wondering if we could have a room for the night."

"Oh, well it has been sometime since we've had honeymooners here and you are very most welcome," said the innkeeper as he started to flip through the books. "The bridal suite is open in case you two would like there for your honeymoon or perhaps the cozy little cot style!"

"We're travelers, my name is Sheik and this is my _friend_ Link," replied Zelda, exasperated at how this person could assume that he was calling them a couple, not that she minded anyways, but the thought made her already dark skin turn as red as her fake eyes. She found herself wishing she had made her skin darker when putting on her disguise, though she also wish she had made herself look like a man, but then again, it her chest to bind her breasts so tight. "We would like to have just what we can afford, though I only came with a few pieces of gold and rupees."

"My dear lady, a piece of gold is worth 500 rupees alone, a few would make you rich enough to buy this hotel," exclaimed the innkeeper in astonishment, something that made Zelda blush more through her disguise at realizing her mistake. "I can understand if you are part of the royal family though. These lands have fallen on dark time and I was once a knight of Hyrule…well one of the lowly ranks that made knight, but I am still a loyal knight to the family and to the Princess Zelda. Wait a second? Could you be the famous Hero of Time? You said his name was Link, did you not Sheik?"

"I believe that now is as good a time as ever to reveal the truth," said Zelda as she momentarily dropped her disguise to reveal her blond hair and fair smooth skin. "My name is not Sheik and as you might have guessed, I am the Princess Zelda. My friend is indeed the Hero of Time, but now that you have heard that, you must know that now your loyalty is needed more than ever for now we are going to retake the castle. What I'm about to tell you is very important and would mean the end for us if any of Ganon's forces discovered it."

"I swear to you Princess that I would rather die than tell any of the forces of evil about your mission," said the innkeeper as he bowed before them.

"I thank that we have found one such as you," said Zelda as she gestured for him to rise. "Our current path, the path that my friend and I walk on, leads us towards the castle to retake it from Vaati. We need to get there as soon as possible to help our friends who are already fighting on our behalf, but we need to get there before that time to stop them. You see, they are walking into a trap and they don't fully realize it yet."

"Please, we need your help to keep our presence and our course of action a secret," said Link as he looked the innkeeper in the eye.

"I am Rinaldo Cronqvuihst at your service," said the innkeeper as he took one of the keys to the master bedrooms. "The main bed can be separate into two beds if you prefer and I'll have some dinner brought up to you soon. In the mean time I can make sure that your horses are well kept and if anyone asks, I'll say your two traveling love birds."

"Thank you, Sir Cronqvuihst, I will remember you when this disaster has been averted," said Zelda as she bowed to him and then proceeded to follow the little bellboy who had been called in to show them to their room. She only hoped that things would be alright for the innkeeper.

* * *

Link stirred awake as a hand shook him from his slumber in the other bed, he expected it to be Zelda waking him that now was the time to go, but instead he saw the innkeeper with a worried look on his face. Link immediately jerked up from his bed, almost butting heads with Rinaldo, who was fortunate enough to move back in time before he was hit. In the other bed lay Zelda, who was being woken up by the bellboy. There was a sense of urgency in the innkeeper's movements and Link could tell that it was not as late in the day as he thought it was, it wasn't even dawn.

"Quickly, you must take Princess Zelda to safety before the dark soldiers check here," warned Rinaldo as he handed Link his tunic and tights. "It seems a camp of them settled here and someone reported your horses to them for a reward. I had a messenger down here not but an hour ago and I tried to delay him as much a she could, but when he saw the emblem on the horse there was no mistaking that he knew. I was forced to kill him and though I did hide the body there is no doubt that more will come here."

"But what will happen to you Rinaldo," asked Link as he strapped on his three strapped belt and then put his shield over his sword sheath on his back.

"Nothing of that matters now, they are at the door and you must take the Princess to safety or all is lost," said Rinaldo as he lead Link and Zelda downstairs to the back of the inn. From the front there could be heard a loud banging sound on the door, like metal gauntlets on wood. "They are coming, you must go now!"

"Rinaldo…how I wish it could be I who is standing in your position," said Link as he helped Zelda onto her horse. "You can probably run in the confusion that we cause from our escape or tell them that we held you hostage."

"Hero of Time, it was an honor to finally meet the one that the three Goddesses put their trust in and I know that they were right to choose you. Now go!"

Though he didn't want to leave Rinaldo to the mercy of one of those corrupted knights, Link could not let Zelda go on her own while he stayed behind to deal with them. If she were captured or killed it would be all over for the Hyrulian forces and all the sacrifices and tragedy that the people suffered would only continue. While he climbed on his horse, Link took a look back between the smooth wooden doorframe of the back stable to see down the green color hallway that he'd gone through and he could see Rinaldo fighting off the intruding dark knights, each one armored with a blackberry colored armor that was very fierce.

"I wish you luck, Rinaldo," said Link before he started to gallop after Zelda.


End file.
